Drawn In The Sand
by Giola
Summary: Our relationship wasn't written in the stars. It was drawn in the sand by my 9 year old self.   But since the start of my seventh year, I've seen Teddy a grand total of three times.   He left for Australia nearly a year ago today, my nineteenth birthday.
1. Birthday Surprises

Our relationship wasn't written in the stars. It was drawn in the sand.

TEDDY + VICTOIRE

My nine-year old self had traced the letters into the damp sand outside my home, never once thinking of what my now nineteen year old self would think about it. I had even taken a picture of it, the waves moving in and out of the picture that still sits above my desk.

Now, ten years later, I wasn't naive or innocent. I was painfully aware of the fact that since the start of my seventh year, I've seen Teddy a grand total of three times. Once, at the station on September 1st, the second at Christmas, and the final time the day he left to study in Australia.

That was in June of last year. Nearly a year ago.

But I'm determined not to think about him today. Today is my birthday, and after work, I'll be treated to a classic Weasley/Potter party.

Today is also ten years to the day that I drew those words in the sand.

But I won't think about that. Today is my birthday, after all.

"Code Green! Code Green!" The loud, irritating voice kept repeating it over and over, as my squad sprang into action.

"Alright, team! We have a case of underage accidental magic, this one's a kid who accidentally caused his Muggle neighbour's hair to flash different colours." Our team leader chuckled a little, all of us following her rapid face as we approached the fireplace.

"Address is 6 Naple Place!" She called, the flames going green as she through in her powder, disappearing into the fireplace.

We all followed, and in less than a minute, all 4 of us were standing in a nice, well-furnished living room.

Our team leader Kate, Chris, a tall, brown haired man two years older than me, and I were the only fully qualified members working this shift. The other two, both girls, were halfway through their training, and were only here to observe.

Course, it was Kate who did that actual reversal, since she got here first. That's how this job works, it's basically a race onto the scene. Chris was back at the ministry, as we had to have one member there, because if another case came up, someone had to deal with it.

Usually there are only 2 of us fully qualified squad members on call, so the competition for performing reversals isn't too fierce. Normally, only one squad member would go on a case, but with the trainees, we needed extra eyes. You never know what could happen.

In the squad, there are ten of us fully qualified members, and we rotate in shifts.

Speaking of shifts, mine finishes in ten minutes, thank Merlin.

Working in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catasrophes was a wild ride; sometimes, there were a million things going on at once (Quidditch season was _always_ hectic), but other times, like today, we only had one or two cases to deal with. Talk about boring.

This morning, we had to help a bloke who'd Splinched himself. That was the only action we got _all_ morning. So, Kate and I started flicking paper balls at Chris, which escalated into a full out war around lunch time.

As we floo back to work, I can't help but feel slightly disappointed. I've been out of training for just over two months now, and the most interesting solo case I've had is a Splinching. Usually I get the team reversals. In the last two months, I've only had a total of 4 solo missions, whereas Kate's had at least 40, and Chris about 25.

I guess I just feel that it's my time to shine. The team missions, the serious ones with multiple reversals, were alright, but I wanted solo action. Unfortunately, with the training season for this half of the year coming to a close, we're currently spending a fair amount of our shifts being either observed by the trainees, or tutoring them.

And we'll repeat the process for the next intake of trainees in September, too. It's a hard program, with only four to five being accepted to train in our squad for each half-year period, and usually only half of these pass. Mostly the new trainees go on to work in other regions and countries, or occasionally in other parts of our Department, but there are the few, like me, who stick on and manage to snag a spot in the squad.

With only ten places, jobs are pretty hard to come by. The other three trainees from my class all ended up working for different institutions, one for a magical pre-school that's just recently been opened, another for Platform 9 ¾, since a lot of accidental magic apparently occurs there, and the last for the Quidditch league, as Quidditch fans have a tendency to get rowdy and drunk, and hence perform stupid magical feats.

"Hey, Vic, you Flooing home?"

I jump at the sound of Chris' voice over my shoulder.

"What?" I ask, shaking my head clear.

"Shift's ended." Chris replies, smiling at me.

"Oh!" I exclaim, jumping up and quickly grabbing my things.

Chris and I make out way to the main fireplaces in the Atrium, waving to many of my extended family as we pass them.

The next two squad members, Mel and Pete, pass us as we step into a queue for one of the fireplaces.

"Oh, hey Mel." I say, smiling at one of my closer workmates.

"Hey. Anything interesting happen in your shift?" Mel replies, flicking her short dark hair over her shoulder.

"Not really." I shrug.

"Oh, sucks." Mel said, before hurrying off to start her shift.

Chris disappears before me, and I take no time in grabbing my Floo powder, stepping into the green flames and travelling home.

"Oh, Victoire!" My roomate calls to me from the next room, in a sing-song voice.

"Hey,Bee." I say as I enter the room.

She looks up at me, gasps, and drags me down the hall and into my bedroom.

"You have to get dressed! You can't go to your family birthday party wearing _robes_!"Bee exclaims, throwing most of the contents of my closet around my room in search for the perfect outfit.

Bee, short for Brylee, and I have been friends since Hogwarts. I'm the only one who puts up with her crazyiness, and she in turn is the only one willing to deal with my crazy work hours.

Eventually, she decides on a grey silk dress that flows down to my knees, and brings out both my eye colour and my blonde hair.

"Oh, you look perfect!" Bee exclaims, grabbing my arm.

Without warning, she turns on the spot, and we appear outside the Burrow.

"Bee! You have to warn me when you do that!" I say to my friend, but she only laughs.

"Oh, shut it. We're late anyway." She says, pulling my through the open door and into the kitchen.

"Victoire!"

"Birthday girl's here!"

"Vic!"

"Hey, Vic!"

"Happy Birthday!"

"Vicky!"

That last one was the Scamander twins, in unison. They're the only ones who called my Vicky, and I have absolutely no idea why, it's quite irritating really, but I can't yell at two 9 year olds without seeming like a monster.

I hug all the members of my extended family, moving on to family friends, and finally, my own friends. Of course, Mel and Pete weren't present because they were working, but all the other members of my squad were here, looking slightly overwhelmed at the number of red-haired and freckled people in the room. They also _might_ have been intimidated by Uncle Harry.

My cousins James and Fred came up to me, bearing their gift. I don't think there are two fourteen year olds that are quite as dangerous as these two anywhere in the world. Sure enough, they'd given me what looked like a lifetime's supply in Wonder Witch products.

Well, it was better than their gift last year, which was two whole boxes of Uncle George's fireworks. I have no idea what they thought I would use them for, honestly.

My birthday wasn't a big deal that year, unlike my seventeenth, and I was quite happy with the small family affair. It wasn't till nearly 10 pm that things got interesting.

The firewhisky had been brought out around an hour earlier, and all of my cousins save James, Fred, Al, Molly and Rose, and my sister Dom, had been sent to bed as they were 'too young' to stay up any later. My parents, Aunts and Uncles were steadily getting drunk. That's one of the big advantages of having Floo, you don't have to drive home, and therefore everyone can get drunk.

Believe me, my family took full advantage of that fact.

"Victoire!"

I heard Bee calling me from the front door, so I went to investigate.

"Your present has arrived." Bee said, grinning in a _very_ evil way at me.

Warily, I opened the door, and, dear god, it was a stripper.

Yes, I'm serious. My best friend got me a _stripper_ for my birthday. She is CRAZY.

"Bee! What the hell?" I said, rounding on her.

She just cracked up laughing, and proceeded to push me out the door, and onto the unsuspecting stripper.

Well, he wasn't _really_ a stripper, actually. He was just an attractive male 'entertainer'. He didn't have a fireman's hat or anything like that; I think Bee knew I would hex her if she did that.

Not that I wasn't thinking seriously about hexing her for this anyway.

"Erm..." I said, not really sure how to handle the situation.

"Let's go inside." I decided, grabbing the man's hand and pulling him through the door with me.

And that was how all of the Weasley/Potter males, as well as my male colleagues, ended up standing outside on the porch, drinking firewhisky, as Bee's entertainer earned his money. My cousins were all sent to bed, complaining as they went.

After a bit more firewhisky, I was cheering him on with the rest of them, though I still felt a little awkward.

So, three guesses how I felt when he sat on my lap.

Yep, you got it. Awkward to the max.

I sat there like a statue, glaring at Bee, as my friends and family laughed openly at me.

Grr.

Well, this situation couldn't really get any worse. He'd be off my in a minute anyway, surely his time was almost up. I think Bee had mention she had him for an hour or so.

So, surely the torture was nearly over.

"Victoire?"

I turn at the sound of a slightly familiar male voice, catching sight of a brown haired male with his mouth open, staring at me, his face displaying hurt and shock.

That was the moment when my nineteenth birthday was ruined.


	2. The Many Faces of Teddy Lupin

_Nine Years Ago_

"Teddy! Give it back! I'll tell Mum!" I screamed at the brown haired boy running swiftly away from me.

"Teddy! That's MINE!" I screech, taking off across the sand after him.

"Come get it then!" He yells back at me, spinning around to face me.

In his hands is my new wand, which he's now waving above his head. I'd got it just today from Diagon Alley, and it had taken him all of an hour to steal it from me.

"Give it here!" I yell in his face, launching myself on top of him, tackling him to the ground.

Laughing, he surrenders my wand, squirming his way out from under me.

"Geez, Vic, it's only a wand. You can't even use it yet!" He said, smirking at me.

"I can so!" I said, sticking my tongue out at him and pointing my wand at him.

It sparked, green and red lights coming out of its tip, surprising Teddy, causing him to jump back a metre or so, to the edge of the waves.

"Hey! Watch it!" He said, glaring at my wand.

"Told ya I could use it." I said, sticking it in my pocket and crossing my arms across my chest.

"Sparks are nothing. Wait till you get to Hogwarts, it's amazing." He said, grinning at me.

I eyed him, and the ever-approaching waves. I cocked my head to the side, waiting for the right time to pounce.

"As long as you're in Gryffindor, it's awesome. If you get into Slytherin, I bet Uncle Bill would disown-"

I cut him off, shoving him in the chest, causing him to topple into the waves. I laugh evilly, looking down at him.

Unfortunately, I don't realise his legs are approaching mine till it's too late.

"Hey! Not fair!" I exclaim, as my legs get knocked out from under me and I fall into the ocean.

I whip out my wand, intending to do...something...with it.

"VICTOIRE GABRIELLE WEASLEY!" My mother screeches at me from the house, and Teddy and I wince in unison.

"Get out of that water THIS INSTANT! You're ruining your dress!"

I quickly scampered up the beach, to the figure of my mother, her hands on her hips, with Teddy hot on my heels.

"Teddy, Andromeda's here to pick you up." Mum said, turning to him.

"Okay. Bye, Vic." He said as he passed me, sticking his tongue out as he did.

I glared at him, my arms once again crossed over my chest.

"I hate him, Mum! He stole my wand!" I whined as my mother led me into the house.

Unfortunately, she took no notice.

"Go upstairs and get changed, Victoire." She said, turning back to the kitchen as I stomped upstairs.

I really, really hate Teddy Lupin. He's constantly teasing me, stealing my things, knocking me into the water. It's SO ANNOYING.

I gaped up at Teddy, who was supposed to be in Australia.

Why on earth was he _here_? At my birthday party? Not that I wasn't glad to see my old friend/person I tried, and failed to have a long-distance relationship with, but, well, this was a bit of an awkward situation, to say the least.

Bee had gotten the 'entertainer' off me, and was now ushering him out the door as the rest of my family pounced on Teddy. The men had all come in from outside, and I could clearly hear Harry questioning Teddy.

"Teddy! How are you?" Harry said, clapping his godson on the back.

"I'm well, Harry, you?" Teddy said, following all of my relatives into the kitchen.

My male colleagues followed, leaving me, Bee, Kelly, Chanelle and Kate standing in the hallway, eavesdropping.

"I thought you weren't sposed to get a break till Christmas?" Harry asked, as we all skulked, very subtlely around the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, well, yeah, I was but...um..." Teddy trailed off, and, even though I couldn't see him, I imagined that his face, and probably his hair too, were steadily getting redder.

"Teddy..." Harry said, in his warning tone most often used around James.

I looked at Bee, who looked back at me, curious.

"I may have dropped out of Auror training." Teddy confessed in a rush.

I swear, every person in the kitchen gasped. I think someone dropped something too, cause there was a suspicious thud.

Bee had clasped her hand to her mouth, and was looking at me, eyes-wide. My colleagues were all looking at me too, but I didn't see any of them.

I had marched straight into the kitchen, my hands on my hips exactly like I used to do when I was ten.

"Teddy Lupin, did I just hear you DROPPED OUT OF AUROR TRAINING?" I screamed, my face only a few inches from his by the time I finished.

I could tell my sentiments were shared by most of the adults, but none of them felt the need to say anything. I think I had the situation covered, personally.

"Well, yeah...I did...it just wasn't for me-" Teddy started, but I cut him off.

"I can't BELIEVE you dropped out of the program! All you've wanted to do since you were like 8 is be an Auror! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" I screeched, my face getting redder as I got angrier.

"Geez, Vic, chill." Teddy said, running a hand through his bright red hair, clearly uncomfortable.

"It's not like youcan talk, was that a stripper I just saw on your lap?" He said, grinning evilly at me.

"That is not the point!" I fumed. "You cannot just throw away an opportunity like that! I won't let you!" I said, shoving him in the chest.

"You won't let me, Vic? And why should that affect me? If I recall, _you_ were the one who suggested we stop trying to have a relationship. _You _were the one who relinquished all rights to be able to tell _me_ what to do." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

I glared at him.

"This is not about _us, _you idiot! It's about you being too...selfish, reckless, I don't know...something, to stick with Auror training for its entirety! Did you even think about what Harry would say?" I said, turning to my Uncle as I mentioned him.

"Harry won't care, he'll be fine once he knows that I did it because being an Auror wasn't the right path for me." Teddy says, nodding to Harry.

"Uncle Harry?" I said, admitting defeat and ceding the floor to him.

"Teddy, do you really feel that way?" Harry asked, always the concerned godfather.

"Yes." Teddy said, crossing his arms over his chest, a position exactly like mine.

"Well, I'm not thrilled, but I guess it's your life. What are you planning on doing, then?" Harry asked.

Practically the whole room cocked it's head then, waiting eagerly for the response.

"McGonagall owled me, she said there's a position open at Hogwarts that I thought I'd take." Teddy said, to wide-spread shock.

"You want to be a teacher?"

That was Uncle Ron, another Auror like Uncle Harry.

"What's wrong with being a teacher, Ron?" Neville piped in, the Herbology Professor at Hogwarts.

"I think it's a wonderful idea. If it's what Teddy wants, of course." Aunt Hermione said, smiling at Teddy.

I had just about had enough.

"Yeah, alright, so it's good that you've finally found what you want to do in life. Yippee for you." I said, scowling at Teddy.

"Victoire!" My dad admonished, taking a step towards me.

I sniffed, turning up my nose at Teddy like the little girl that was hiding inside of me.

"You know, if you'd figured all this out a year ago, we would still be together. We'd still have a _chance_." I said, my eyes boring into Teddy's.

With that, I turned on my heel, and stormed out of the kitchen. I grabbed Bee, said a general goodbye to whoever was listening, and Flooed home.

"What exactly happened between you and Teddy?" Bee asked me the minute we stepped out of the fireplace.

Groaning, I collapsed on the nearby couch.

"We broke up, Bee, you know that." I said, closing my eyes.

"Yes, Vic, I know that. But I don't know why. You dated for two years, and he was in Ireland for one of them. You managed long-distance then. What happened?"

I felt her sit down beside me, and I knew she wouldn't let up till I told her.

"Well, Australia's a long way away. You can't owl, it's too far, so you have to rely on muggle post, which is _so slow_. Teddy could only come back for Christmas, so I knew I'd only see him once. I guess it wasn't worth it."

I shrugged, and even though my eyes were closed, I could feel her staring at me.

"Wasn't worth it? You two are practically made for each other!" She said, hitting my arm lightly.

I snorted.

"No we're not. We fight all the time. Besides, I've moved on. If he'd just stayed in Australia, it would've been fine." I opened my eyes to see Bee's incredulous face.

"You so have not moved on." She scoffed.

"I have so!" I said, feeling, again, like a child.

"Really? Then why haven't you dated anyone since you decided a long-distance relationship was 'too hard'?" She said, smirking at me.

"I just...haven't found anyone I like!" I said, getting up and escaping to my room before she could ask more awkward questions.

I hadn't told her everything, and I had no desire too.

She didn't need to know what Teddy had said to me on that fateful day, that day he left for Australia. The day that I decided we weren't meant to be.

It was all Teddy's fault. I mean, he had been leaving, to _Australia_, of all places. On the other side of the world! Did he really expect me to take what he'd thrown at me lightly?

He's stupid, idiotic and annoying.

But he was my best friend. That was all we were now, friends. There's no way we could go back to what we had. That was impossible.

Yes, if he hadn't gone to Australia, things would've been different. What really irks me is that now that he's thrown the last two years of his life away, I could have been happy. We could have been happy.

And I wouldn't be stuck here, trying desperately to _not_ love the one person who infuriated my beyond belief.


	3. An Intervention

I quietly snuck into the kitchen, hoping that I wouldn't wake Bee up, and therefore would be able to avoid more awkward questions about my love life.

Alas, my plan failed.

"Morning." Bee said over her daily cup of coffee.

Damn. She usually gets up late. Trust her to be up before me on the _one_ day that I want to avoid questioning.

"You're up early." I said warily as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

"Vic, its 9:30." Bee replied, amused.

"I know, but that's early for you." I said.

It was true, Bee hardly ever got up before 11. She's assistant manager to the semi-known wizarding band Hand of Glory. Basically, she's the person in the back of all those photos you see in the magazines. The band members themselves are more famous for their social exploits than their music, and I know it infuriates their actual manager (Bee's just her assistant).

"Yeah, well, Micheal wanted me to come in early to come up with a strategy to get the band some more gigs." Bee said, flicking through this morning's Daily Prophet.

Micheal was her boss, the band's manager. I've never met him, but according to Bee he's a stuck up, pompous git in his 20s. I reckon she fancies him, but I'm not going to push the issue. I'm such a nice best friend, aren't I?

"So, you and Teddy..." Bee starts, looking up at me with a wicked glint in her eye.

Humph. I'm considerate enough not to pry into her love life, why can't she give me the same courtesy? So, channeling my inner child, I grabbed a piece of toast out of the toast (yes, we have Muggle appliances. Neither one of us can cook, so they help. All we have to do is flick our wand at the toaster/microwave/oven/kettle, and voila. Not quite magic, but close enough.), grabbed my coat and bag from beside the door and apparated away from my prying roomate.

Only problem was, I didn't have anywhere to go. I was on the late shift tonight, starting at ten, so I had...12 hours till I had to be anywhere.

Great.

I don't know why, but I'd apparated to my parent's house, otherwise known as Shell Cottage. I used to come here heaps just after Teddy left. Walking along the beach was the way that I sorted through my thoughts.

Actually, that's probably what brought me here.

I turned towards the beach, intent on taking a nice, long walk, when my mother walked out of the house.

"Victoire?" She said, squinting at me.

"Hi, Mum." I said, groaning inwardly and abandoning my plan of a walk.

"What are 'ou doing 'ere?" She asked, looking slightly wary.

Fair enough, I never visited if I could help it. If I was her, I'd be wary too.

"Just thought I'd drop by, Mum." I lied smoothly, walking past her into the house.

What? I didn't eat much breakfast at my own house, so might as well take advantage of this one.

Sitting down at the table and helping myself to a muffin, I looked up to see Mum eying me, clearly trying to figure out my motive.

"Does ziz visit 'ave anything to do with Teddy?" She said, sitting down opposite me, sipping a cup of tea that she'd clearly been drinking before I'd dropped in.

Well. I wasn't expecting to get interrogated by my mother today.

But, here I was. And I couldn't really get up and apparate away like I'd done with Bee.

"There's nothing with me and Teddy." I said flatly, hoping she'd drop it.

"Really? Zen why did 'ou attack 'im last night?" She said, cupping her hands around her tea cup, looking at me with the 'concerned mother' glance.

"I did not attack him!" I exclaimed. "I just...yelled at him! He deserved it." I said, sliding down in my seat.

"Deserved eet? What eexactly did 'e do?" My mother said, leaning foward towards me.

I groaned. I _really_ did not want to get into this right now.

"Nothing, Mum. He's just an idiot." I said, staring resolutely at the table. She was _not _going to get the whole story out of me.

"Really? So eet was 'im that decided to end you relationship? His 'idiocy'?" My mother inquired, her elbows now resting on the table, her chin in her hands.

ARGH! How was I going to get out of this.

I just won't answer.

There, that's a _real_ mature way to deal with the situation.

"Fleur?"

I heard someone calling from the living room.

"In 'ere!" My mother called back, still scrutinizing me.

"Ah, she's already here!" Someone exclaimed.

I turned around, and saw _every single one_ of my aunts file into the kitchen. Not kidding.

"Mum! What did you do?" I whined, turning back to my Mum, my eyes blazing.

"We're staging an intervention, Victoire." Aunt Ginny supplied helpfully.

"Teddy's with Harry and Ron now, George, Bill, Charlie and Percy will be there soon." Aunt Audrey chimed in.

Audrey's the annoying aunt, the one that gives you boring, work 'blouses' for Christmas, who constantly bugs you about your career, and secretly aspires to be the Minister of Magic. She's married to Uncle Percy, the original pompous Uncle.

"How did you get here so _quickly_?" I said, still completely thrown by this whole thing.

At least Teddy was suffering too. Ha.

"Fleur used the coins." Aunt Hermione said, smiling at me.

Wait, coins? What the hell?

"You have a secret communication network?" I screeched, exploding at my aunts. "Why did I not know this!"

I let my head collapse on the table, tired of being irrationally angry.

"So, Fleur, has she said anything?" Hermione said, as they all took places around the kitchen table.

"Non." My mother said.

I banged my head against the table. This could not be happening.

Why is it that my ENTIRE FAMILY seems to like to meddle in my life? Why do the _care_ why Teddy and I broke up?

"Well, there's definitely more to this that they're saying." Angelina says, George's wife.

"There's NOTHING to it." I said, my voice slightly muffled against the table.

"Teddy was an idiot, and I ended it because he was an idiot who was now going to live on the other side of the world. That's all." I said, banging my head again.

"Victoire, dear, we know there's more to it than that. Teddy was nervous for a week before he left, but we could never figure out why. Then, he talked to you, and the next thing we know is he'd left, and you walked around looking like an angry Hippogriph." Said Aunt Ginny, clearly trying to gode it out of me.

Wait, he was nervous? For a _week_ before? Then it wasn't an on-the-spot, typical Teddy, stupid, idiotic, spontaneous thing?

I raised my head slowly, surveying my Aunts who were all looking at me with varying degrees of concern.

"He should've stayed in Australia." I said bluntly, slumping in my chair.

"I think it's good that he's decided to follow his heart and be a teacher. Of course, being an Auror is much more sophistic-" Aunt Audrey started, but stopped when faced with the triple glare that was Aunt Hermione, Aunt Ginny and Mum.

"Victoire? Why do you say that?" Hermione said, trying to be the nice, kind and caring one.

"He could have at least _warned_ me. Owled or something, to say he was coming back." I mumbled, a scowl forming on my face.

My female relatives seemed to decide it was wise to remain silent, and they let me sit their, wallowing in my thoughts.

Unforunately, I did that wallowing out loud.

"He should have owled. He didn't even bother to owl and say he was making a huge, life-changing desicion! Some _best friend_ he is!"

I sniffed angrily.

"Though, I should've expected it. He's always one for on the spot decisions. He expected me to just up and leave everything, just for _him_. He didn't even give me a second to think about it!" I exclaimed, slapping my hands down on the table.

I couldn't keep it in anymore. I needed to tell _someone_, even if that someone, or someones, happened to be a room full of my aunts, and mother.

"He fucking _proposed_ that day. The day he left, he just asked me, I thought it was out of the blue. Though, it might not have been, if he was nervous like you said, Ginny..." I said, trailing off, losing my track of thought, pondering the idea that he might have planned it.

Though, that wouldn't have changed anything. I still would've said no, for all the other reasons. I quickly got back into my angry rant.

"Oh, yeah, and then he asks me to MOVE TO AUSTRALIA! What did he expect? That I'd drop everything for him? God, he's an idiot." I said, standing up now and pacing the room.

"I loved him. I would've waited for him. But no, he had to ruin it and be and idiot, putting me in that situation where I had no choice but to say no! And then he acts all hurt! God, what was I supposed to do? Say, oh, Teddy I'll marry you and leave my WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE here, all for you! He gave me a goddamn ultimatum! I had no choice but to break up with him!" I yelled to my captivated relatives.

"And then...then he comes back here, wasting his last 2 years." I said my voice softer this time.

"If he'd just...if he'd just realised earlier, before he _left_, we would've been fine. We would be together." I said, sobbing now.

I collapsed on the floor, sobbing. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I brushed them away angrily. I vaguely heard Ginny and Hermione leave the room, probably to floo their husbands and figure out what Teddy had said. Mum crouched down next to me, but didn't say anything. She just rubbed my back soothingly.

And I sat there, bawling like a baby, in the middle of our kitchen floor.


End file.
